What happened
Broncos blow out Air Force 80-57. Both Andrew and Pearson led the Broncos with 14 points. Air Force was led by Ethan Taylor, who led all scorers with 19 points. The Broncos finished with 5 players in double figures, with Tyson bringing in 11, Alvaro with 13, and Omar with 10.
Last night was a solid team effort, with everyone contributing to the stat sheet. Even RJ added some points as he finished with 5 points and another 10 rebound game. Credit to RJ, he understands his role is to play defense and get rebounds. Those skills will be valuable come tournament time.
Defense Travels
Great teams play great defense, no matter the location. Last night, the Broncos brought their hard hats and locked down the Falcons, holding them to under 40% from the field and forcing 12 turnovers. They also had 10 offensive rebounds, which led to 16 second-chance points. Seeing this level of defense from the Broncos on the road is refreshing. As we know, road games in the Mountain West aren’t guaranteed. Saturday’s game against Fresno was evidence of that.
This is the first year in my memory where our only conference losses are against the top 5 teams in the conference. In years past, we always dropped a game against a San Jose State or Air Force because we didn’t show up mentally. This season, we didn’t let those weird road games in Laramie or Fresno get the better of us. This team is peaking at the right time and looks pretty unstoppable when they lock in on defense. They continue to build momentum towards the Mountain West Tournament.
What’s Next?
It’s senior night on Friday as we welcome Colorado State. It will be the final home game for Alvaro, Omar, and Tyson. The X is already sold out as the Broncos look to make it 3/3 on the home revenge tour. They had previously blown out Utah State and New Mexico at home after losing to those teams on the road.
A win on Friday should cement our place in the NCAA tournament. Seeding going into the Mountain West Tournament will come down to the last day. Should the Broncos win, they’ll secure the 2 seed and face the winner of Nevada and Fresno State. A loss would most likely mean a date with San Diego State.
